Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan is targeting a return to the Black Stars for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Gyan believes he can make Ghana’s squad despite not being called up for national duty in three years.
The 36-year-old last appeared for the Black Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in 2019. Since then, three managers have been in charge of the Black Stars, none of whom have called on the veteran.
Gyan’s club career since his last Ghana appearance has been underwhelming, owing primarily to injuries, making it difficult for him to be called up.
The striker made his last competitive appearance on May 5, 2021, as a substitute in a Ghana Premier League match between his former club Legon Cities and WAFA. Gyan left Legon Cities in October 2021 and is still looking for a new club.
With only three months until the start of the World Cup, Gyan is hopeful. He wants to get back into shape, find a new club, and work hard enough to convince Black Stars coach Otto Addo.
“Anything can happen, You know it’s happened before. I’m talking about Cameroon in 1994 with Roger Milla you know coming back from retirement to play in the World Cup. I haven’t retired yet. I haven’t announced my retirement. You know I’ve been out for almost two years now due to injuries, due to my body,” he told BBC.
“I just need to get my body back in shape. So, I’ve started training of course so I need to get back in shape and see how my body reacts to playing competitive football. Talent-wise, I reckon it’s there already so I just have to prepare physically and then we’ll see what happens.”
“Honestly, I haven’t spoken to anybody at all. It’s part of the plan. I just want to make sure and see how my body reacts first. Me and my manager, we’ve been talking behind the scenes, you know and everything so we just have to make sure, we know what we are doing. Everything is in progress, and everything looks positive. We’ll see what happens. There might be a surprise,” he added.
Gyan has six goals at the World Cup, making him Africa’s leading scorer.
Ghana will face Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay in the group stage of the World Cup, which begins on November 20.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana